Paolo Hurtado: The South American view on Reading FC's new Peruvian winger

Of Reading's 11 signings this summer, the capture of Peru winger Paolo Hurtado from Portuguese club Pacos de Ferreira was one of the more exciting.

The South American is an unknown quantity on these shores but watching him in action on YouTube clips has certainly whet the appetite of Reading fans who are eagerly awaiting their first glimpse of the attacker in action.

So ahead of next week's clash we caught up with South American football expert Marcus Haydon (@marcusjhaydon) who has given us the low-down on Royals' new winger.

Despite the explosion of foreign players in English football over the last 20 years, Peru is a country that has provided only a handful, with Nolberto Solano, most prominently of Newcastle, and Claudio Pizarro of Chelsea being the most noteworthy examples.

Born in the port city of Callao, just to the west of the capital Lima, Hurtado came through the youth ranks at Alianza Lima, one of the country’s most iconic and popular clubs, and was quickly dubbed Caballito, the Little Horse, thanks to his athleticism and stamina.

Despite his success there, Hurtado’s time at Alianza came to a sour end when the club fell into a financial crisis and failed to pay his wages. The player took the dispute to the Peruvian Football Federation, who judged he was free to leave, thereby paving the way for his move to Portugal with Pacos de Ferreira.

At international level, Hurtado debuted in 2011 and has earned 20 caps to date. The national side tends to line up with a 4-4-2 system, with Hurtado generally appearing as a substitute in one of the two wide midfield positions.

In the Copa America during the summer he was a useful squad member, appearing as a substitute in four of their six matches, often to provide a threat on the break in the closing stages of matches.

Thumbs up: Paolo Hurtado and his agent Elio Casareto.

The key questions in a transfer like this are whether the player has the right skill-set for English football and whether they will be able to adapt culturally. In the case of Hurtado, both of these areas look promising.

Regarding playing style, he is an athletic and skilful attacker. As his nickname suggests, he is a very mobile and when you combine that with his dexterity on the ball and eye for a killer pass, he is a player particularly suited to swift counter-attacking football.

While his strongest position is that of a wide attacker, he is not an archetypal touchline-hugging winger, always looking to get to the byline and deliver a cross. Hurtado is instead comfortable to come inside and combine with teammates, but flexible enough that he can be the one running in behind a defence, or the one playing the pass.

In terms of adaptation, Reading will hope to benefit greatly from the fact that Hurtado has been through this experience already, making the big cultural leap from Peru’s chaotic capital to the sleepier environs of northern Portugal.

He has admitted that he struggled with that move initially, but improved once his wife and son joined him, though he still speaks with his family back home nearly every day.

English clubs have become more accustomed to supporting foreign players in these moves and you would hope that Reading will give Hurtado the support he needs.

In terms of football adaptation, the experience he had in Portugal should again be of great help.

Taking a player straight from Peru to England would be a significant step, both in terms of quality and style. Defences sit deeper, there is less pressing and team shape is less rigorous than in European football, but Hurtado has seen this already and had three years to develop his game along those lines.

In fact his workrate and willingness to help the team defensively are notable.

So while we will just have to wait and see regarding the question of adaptation, Reading certainly have themselves an exciting and dynamic player who has the potential to play a big role in Steve Clarke’s future plans.